Officials Rarely Keep Tabs on Asbestos Cases

Some 85 percent of 151 local governments surveyed, including the 47 prefectures, do not keep tabs on the conditions of people who have developed mesothelial tumors due to asbestos exposure, a parliamentary research office said in a survey released Thursday.

Of the 151 local governments, 76 percent were found to have not been exchanging information about the victims with labor standards inspection offices, which recognize situations of sufferers of work-related illnesses caused by asbestos.

The House of Representatives environmental research office conducted the survey on the 151 governments nationwide, including the 47 prefectures and major cities, last December in a bid to find out how local-level authorities are working on measures regarding the asbestos problem. All of the governments responded.

According to the survey, only two governments said they keep tabs on all cases of mesothelial tumors that may have been caused by asbestos. Ten governments said they do so for some of the cases, while 129 said they do not do so at all.